Best The Wall Reporting On The Border Podcasts (2025)

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The Double Life of Robert McNamara: How America's 'Best and Brightest' Led the Nation into Vietnam While Knowing the War Was Unwinnable 58:10

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25m ago58:10

58:10

There is no more shakespearean parable of the tragic rise and fall of the postwar American meritocratic elite than Robert Strange McNamara. War hero, Harvard Business School, head of Ford, begged by JFK to take a role - any role - in Camelot. Then came the equally meteoric fall as JFK and then LBJ’s Secretary of Defense - Vietnam and all its death …

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US Job Growth Stalling, New Report Finds 1:19:38

20h ago1:19:38

1:19:38

A disappointing jobs report just released this morning shows employers added just 22,000 jobs last month, raising fears that US job growth is stalling out. This report also reveals a rising unemployment rate ticking up to 4.3%, the highest in nearly four years. Our coverage begins with Vanessa Yurkevich in New York and Alayna Treene at the White Ho…

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The World's Worst Bet: How America Gambled Dumbly on Globalization and Lost 43:58

12h ago43:58

43:58

Dumb globalization: America’s worst bet. That, at least, is the view of the Washington Post financial writer David J Lynch and author of The World’s Worst Bet. From Clinton to Bush, Lynch argues, America has bet stupidly on globalization and, not surprisingly, has lost. It’s no coincidence, he suggests, that the American dream has also unraveled in…

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RFK on the Hot Seat 1:53:40

2d ago1:53:40

1:53:40

As today's show begins, Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about to testify before senators, his department roiled in controversy after he canceled millions in vaccine research funding and dismantled a key panel of experts who make vaccination recommendations to the federal government. He also recently ousted the CDC director a…

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Demystify Science and Humanize Scientists: How to Rebuild Scientific Trust in our Angry MAHA Times 41:53

1d ago41:53

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In our angry MAHA times, how can we get people trusting science and scientists again. According to MIT’s Alan Lightman, one of America’s greatest scientific writers, we need to both demystify science and humanize scientists. Lightman is the co-author, with Martin Rees, of The Shape of Wonder, a timely collection of essays about how scientists think…

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Breaking Their Silence 1:54:25

3d ago1:54:25

1:54:25

Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein are sharing their stories on Capitol Hill as pressure intensifies for the Justice Department to release all of the files in this case ... President Trump vows to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago to crack down on crime, as local politicians prepare to fight back, accusing him of abusing his power ... More than 1,0…

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Boat Drinks; Looted WWII Painting Found in Buenos Aires Real-Estate Video; Tarahumara & Rarámuri Runners; Liga MX; Ronaldinho Farewell 13:09

2d ago13:09

13:09

Latin America Correspondent Jon Bonfiglio speaks to Martin Kelner for Talk Radio. Support the showBy LatinAmericaCorrespondent

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From Borges to Brain Scans: How our Minds Invent Reality 45:52

2d ago45:52

45:52

The human brain is so unbelievably complex that we barely understand its most basic functions. According to the British neuroscientist Daniel Yon, our brains - which some speculate are the most mysteriously complicated things in the universe - might even have minds of their own. In his latest book, A Trick of the Mind, Yon argues that our brains qu…

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Epstein Victims Demand Answers 1:23:17

4d ago1:23:17

1:23:17

Bipartisan lawmakers are meeting with Jeffrey Epstein's victims and their attorneys as they demand the files be released ... Rescuers are digging through the rubble after an earthquake decimated Afghanistan, killing more than 1,000 people ... Why are men and boys falling behind in education and the workforce on social settings? We bring you a Situa…

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The Hypocrisy of Trump's War on Universities: How Wealthy Families Game the College Admission Process 39:48

3d ago39:48

39:48

According to former college president Beverly Daniel Tatum, Trump’s war on university admissions is deeply hypocritical. On the one hand, she argues, his attack on affirmative action admissions policy is made in the populist language of “anti-woke” egalitarianism; but on the other, wealthy families are already gaming college admissions through clev…

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Judge Turns Trump Deportation Plane Around 1:22:10

5d ago1:22:10

1:22:10

First: The Trump Administration squares off once again against a federal judge, this time over the removal of Guatemalan children. The judge's order forces at least one flight carrying then to turn around. Plus: Nine former CDC leaders slam HHS Secretary RFK Jr., saying his actions "should alarm every American." And: Two small planes crash into eac…

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Borders are Back, Baby: From Trump and Transylvania to Brexit and Bolivia's Navy 38:11

4d ago38:11

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Globalization is dying, maybe even dead. Borders are back, baby. That’s the message in Jonn Elledge’s sparkling Brief History of the World in 47 Borders. In this romp around world history , Elledge introduces us to 47 of the world’s oddest borders including particularly weird ones in Detroit, Kaliningrad and Bolivia. So should be celebrating or mou…

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Beware of another Silicon Valley Win-Win-Win: Can users, publishers and tech companies really all benefit from the AI revolution? 45:32

5d ago45:32

45:32

When somebody says “win-win” in Silicon Valley, check your pockets. It’s usually some elaborate prelude to a sales pitch. And the only thing dodgier than a two-way win is the “win-win-win” narrative that my friend Keith Teare is selling this week. “User, Publishers and AI: Everybody Wins” is the title of Keith’s That Was The Week newsletter this we…

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Every Day, Computers are Making People Easier to Use: The Return of IN FORMATION 47:44

6d ago47:44

47:44

It’s only been a quarter century, but IN FORMATION magazine is now back. Published by David Temkin with the tagline “Every Day, Computers are Making People Easier to Use”, IN FORMATION was originally designed in 1998 as the “Anti-Wired” - a glossily skeptical anti-tech publication for Silicon Valley insiders. And now, as more tech hysteria grips th…

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Is Roman Polanski really worth defending? 32:37

6d ago32:37

32:37

Is the convicted sex criminal Roman Polanski worth defending? Particularly in the context of “An Officer and a Spy”, his vaguely autobiographical 2019 movie about the Dreyfus case, the first Polanski film in a decade to be shown in the United States. Writing in Liberties Quarterly, Charles Taylor answers yes, intelligently making the case that we s…

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Turmoil at the CDC 1:21:34

8d ago1:21:34

1:21:34

President Trump names a new acting director at the CDC after firing his predecessor. New details emerge on what investigators have found out about the Minneapoliss school shooter. Cracker barrel's 93-year-old co-founder is talking about that attempted rebrand using words like bland and pitiful. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices…

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How Parents Have Become the Social Media in Their Kids' Lives: So Taking Away Phones Won't Alone Fix the Teen Mental Health Crisis 48:10

7d ago48:10

48:10

It's become the new orthodoxy: social media is the cause of the epidemic of anxiety amongst adolescents. So the way to fix this is by taking away their smartphones. But according to Pulitzer prize-winning New York Times writer Matt Richtel, things are actually a lot more complicated than blaming everything on digital technology. In fact, we may hav…

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From Solitary to Silicon Valley: Shaka Senghor on America's Hidden Prisons 34:20

8d ago34:20

34:20

Shaka Senghor is one of America’s great survivors. Having spent 19 years in high-security prison, he has reinvented himself as a best-selling writer and public speaker on individual freedom and responsibility. In his new book, How to Be Free, Senghor argues that everyone — inside and outside jail — lives in hidden prisons of trauma, shame, and grie…

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A Community Shattered 1:36:35

9d ago1:36:35

1:36:35

Two children are dead and 17 people injured following a shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis. We speak to that city's police chief. Plus, it's reportedly chaos at the CDC after its director is ousted and a mass exodus by other key officials. And we also have new reporting about the apparent emptying of the highly controversial Florida deten…

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Regional Round-Up: 'El Mayo' Zambada; Latest on Held Journalist Mario Guevara; Corruption Scandal for Argentina's Milei; 'Alligator Alcatraz' to Close; El Salvador's Democracy on Life Support 6:19

8d ago6:19

6:19

Latin America Correspondent Jon Bonfiglio with an update and analysis from across the region. Support the showBy LatinAmericaCorrespondent

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Is Your Personal Information At Risk? 1:31:45

10d ago1:31:45

1:31:45

A whistleblower says there are serious data security lapses for 300 million Americans. Plus, the parents of a 16-year-old say Chat GPT contributed to their son's death. The family's lawyer joins us live to discuss the matter. And we explore the Ten Commandments legal battle in Texas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoi…

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Why Even Sam Altman Wants to be Gary Marcus: From Son of Sam to Son of Gary in a single ChatGPT Release 35:20

9d ago35:20

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It hasn’t always been easy being Gary Marcus these last few years. OpenAI’s most persistently outspoken AI sceptic has been in minority, sometimes of one, in his critique both of Sam Altman’s claims about the imminence of AGI as well as the general “intelligence” and economic viability of ChatGPT. Since the supposedly “botched” release of GPT-5, ho…

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Wall of Dust 1:20:45

11d ago1:20:45

1:20:45

First: A dust storm engulfs Arizona, whipping up winds near hurricane force and reducing visibility to near zero. Plus: President Trump says he's firing a top official in the Federal Reserve. We bring you her response. And: The seemingly never-ending saga of Kilmar Abrego Garcia continues. His lawyer joins us to discuss the government's latest depo…

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Dr Strangelove Returns: Palantir and the New Military-Industrial-Digital Complex 35:02

10d ago35:02

35:02

Maybe he never went away. But Dr Strangelove is back now at the heart of America’s new military-industrial-digital complex. And Strangelove 2.0 might offer an even more existential threat than Kubrick’s original cigar-chewing model played with such absurdist aplomb by the great Peter Sellers. While the first Strangelove was just dumb, today’s power…

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US v China in Venezuela; Mexico/US Relations & the Border Wall; Mayan Jungle Protected Area Announced 9:45

10d ago9:45

9:45

Latin America Correspondent Jon Bonfiglio speaks to Carole Walker for Times Radio. Support the showBy LatinAmericaCorrespondent

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Trump Looks To Expand Crime Crackdown 1:46:01

12d ago1:46:01

1:46:01

As today's show hit the air, President Trump is expected to sign an executive order over cashless bail as he looks to expand his crime crackdown to other cities. Meanwhile, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is back in ICE custody and being processed for deportation after surrendering just days after he was released from a facility in Tennessee. And wildfires ar…

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MAGA Voters Aren't Stupid: That's Why They Don't Care What Right-Wing Podcasters Think 41:20

11d ago41:20

41:20

What’s the matter with America? We’ve been told for years about the dumb working class MAGA voter. That they are exploited by Trump, that their interests are the reverse of a self-interested Republican cultural or economic elite. But according to the iconoclastic Tablet magazine contributor Michael Lind, we’ve got it the wrong way around. MAGA Vote…

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Getting Queerer Quicker: No, The Literary Man Isn't Disappearing—He's Just Not Longer White or Straight 41:23

12d ago41:23

41:23

For lonely young men who have forgotten how to read, the LA Times book critic Bethanne Patrick some some simple advice: Get Queer Quicker. And to make her point, Patrick discusses five great books on today’s male identity crisis - including from Keen On alums like Jessa Crispin and Andrew Lipstein. Patrick argues that reports of the literary man's …

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Political Shifts in Latin America; UN Report Says Nobody Reads UN Reports; Sex-Toy Drug Arrest; Sports Round-Up 11:11

12d ago11:11

11:11

Latin America Correspondent Jon Bonfiglio speaks to Martin Kelner for Talk Radio. Support the showBy LatinAmericaCorrespondent

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Susan C. Boyd, "Heroin: An Illustrated History" (Fernwood, 2022) 45:23

12d ago45:23

45:23

Dr. Susan Boyd is a scholar/activist and Distinguished Professor emerita at the University of Victoria. Her research examines a variety of topics related to the history of drug prohibition and resistance to it, drug law and policy, including maternal drug use, maternal/state conflicts, film and culture, radio and print media, heroin assisted-treatm…

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Who Owns The Front Door? The Multi-Trillion Dollar Battle to Assemble the AI Jigsaw 44:43

13d ago44:43

44:43

Those who do win. Those are Keith Teare’s immortal words to describe the winners of today’s Silicon Valley battle to control tomorrow’s AI world. But the real question, of course, is what to do to win this war. The battle (to excuse all these blunt military metaphors) is to assemble the AI pieces to reassemble what Keith calls the “jigsaw” of our n…

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US Warships Deployed to Venezuela 7:03

13d ago7:03

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Latin America Correspondent Jon Bonfiglio speaks to Henry Bonsu for Times Radio. Support the showBy LatinAmericaCorrespondent

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21. Logic and Liberty | From Viral Videos to a National Movement 16:44

13d ago16:44

16:44

What happens when a mom, business owner, and TikTok creator sparks a movement that sweeps across America? Logic and Liberty went from posting political videos during COVID to organizing 40+ nationwide protests, school walkouts, and live debates that challenge government overreach head-on. In this unapologetic episode, she reveals how censorship and…

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FBI Searching John Bolton's Home, Office 1:36:31

15d ago1:36:31

1:36:31

As today's show begins, the FBI is searching the home and office building of President Trump's former National Security Adviser John Bolton. Also, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is speaking at the central bank's annual gathering. And in Florida, a judge has just ruled that no new detainees can be brought to the facility dubbed Alligator Alcatr…